Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The fleeing man's figure was shrouded in shadows, moving swiftly and agilely in a zigzagging pattern away from the carriage.

"Shoot quickly!"

Miss Beyas shouted loudly.

"I would dare to shoot... I mean, I'm out of bullets!"

But his right hand, hidden behind his back, already lit up with a faint silver light. Today, even if it revealed to Miss Beyas that he was a Circle Sorcerer, he couldn't allow a member of the Blood of Mercury who had seen his face to escape. Ruining Miss Annette's plan was still salvageable, but if the man escaped, things would become very troublesome.

But someone was faster than Shard.

"Dammit!"

The girl with brown hair uttered an unbecoming phrase while crouching slightly. The Brass Life Ring behind her spun rapidly, causing sparks as it fricted against the wall, and the golden miracle rune "Sunlight" suddenly flickered with spiritual light.

Black leather shoes stamped footprints on the soft ground of the alley as her crouching body slightly leaned backward to the right, while her right palm hung open, flickering with the crackling golden thunder within.

Then, with a fierce force, she rose and threw forward, the thunder in her hand converging into a golden spear that instantly left her palm, slicing through the air and leaving behind a bright golden light trace in the alley:

"Sunlight Gun!"

The thunder bypassed Shard's cheek, leaving him with a burning sensation, and at that instant, he thought he heard the whispers of a million people's prayers.

The thunder slashed through the alley, piercing the Brass Life Ring behind the fleeing man, striking the man dodging in the shadows accurately.

He screamed in agony as the Arcane Technique "Sunlight Gun" hit him right in the back, the shadows on his body quickly fading before he staggered forward a few steps and then heavily fell to the ground.

The Life Ring behind him dissipated into the air, he twitched once, and then lay motionless. In this battle between a Four-Ring Sorcerer and a Second Ring Sorcerer, Miss Beyas almost achieved a complete victory.

The golden thunder flickered on the ground of the alley, lingering for a long time. Shard stared dumbfounded as Miss Beyas stood up and dusted off her hands. The brown-haired girl hummed in dismissal of her opponent, then scanned up and down the detective who now had blood on his clothes:

"What did you just see?"

"I..."

He knew the battles between Circle Sorcerers were quite "spectacular," at least the fight he had seen on the third floor of Lakeside Manor, though disastrous, was splendid. But he had never expected that even a fight between Low Ring Sorcerers could be so stylized.

"I think we need to get reacquainted."

Miss Beyas stretched out her hand to Shard. Shard hesitated for a moment then reached out and took Iluna Beath's hand, the latter looking solemnly at the young and uneasy detective:

"Iluna Beath, from the Sun and Earth Church, a Circle Sorcerer of the True God Lantern Bearer. Detective, I think it's necessary to have a talk with you about the true nature of this world." Discover more content at empire

But Shard didn't want to talk; he just wanted to return home with the money hidden in his chest pocket. Fortunately, he had not exposed his identity as a Correspondence Circle Mage and hadn't disrupted Miss Annette's plan.

"Miss Beyas, you seemed to have coughed up blood just now."

Shard cautiously said, then put the "Spear of Kindness" back into his waistband.

As soon as the short man crawled into the carriage, he spotted at first glance the "sleeping" detective's handgun at his waist. He was reaching for the handgun when the fight broke out outside.

He hadn't initially intended to use the gun but wanted to wait until the fight was over to decide. But Shard didn't want to leave his life in someone else's hands. When he opened his eyes to resist, the other party immediately pulled the trigger of the Spear of Kindness, just like the Heart Collector shooting as soon as he saw him wanting to roll the dice...

probably because this time the firearm user was just a Low Ring Sorcerer, ensuring death didn't require blowing up the head, so the bullet merely passed through his brow, spattering less blood than before.

Of course, when Shard and Miss Beyas explained later, they said it was an accident during the struggle that the trigger was pulled. Miss Beyas didn't care if the detective's victory had any quirks. She stared at the detective:

"Mr. Hamilton, since you just witnessed what happened, you should be able to guess that this world is not as simple as you think."

Shard nodded while trying to step back, but Miss Beath immediately stepped forward:

"According to the regulations, ordinary people who witness a fight between Circle Sorcerers must have that memory erased."

Her voice was steady, as if she was announcing a decision. However, the phrase "according to the regulations" suggested that this time, it probably would not follow the regulations, which relieved Shard as he did not have to reveal his identity.

"But according to the Church's statutes, before erasing your memory, they will ask about the events that happened today."

Shard did not retreat further; he vaguely understood something. The powerful Arcane Technique he had just seen, the "Sunlight Gun," was probably not attainable by normal means, and Miss Beath did not want Shard to tell the Church about this incident.

[Based on the elements of the Arcane Techniques and the fluctuations of the Spirit you have witnessed, the power of the Sunlight Gun just now was close to the Silver Thunder used by Lassoya.]

"Do you understand?"

The young girl with brown hair asked very softly, although she was young and lacked the cunning of the seasoned Foreigners, her performance at this moment was indeed praiseworthy.

"Of course, I understand."

Shard also spoke softly, then spread his hands to show he had no malice:

"Miss Beath, I truly didn't see anything today, and I really didn't discover anything, didn't remember anything."

He said while looking into her eyes, at one moment, Shard noticed his own reflection in her beautiful eyes, strangely covered by a golden Light Trace.

"Detective, you should understand that each of us has our own secrets."

"Yes, everyone does."

Shard nodded, he understood her meaning:

"You could kill me, thus no one would expose your secret. But I believe you won't, yet you also do not want a person who knows your secret to exist. Today is only our first meeting; you cannot fully trust me."

"Yes."

She looked at Shard, sizing up the detective:

"You might not know what you saw just now... that power, is not something a Low Ring Sorcerer can use, it is a High Ring Divinity..."

The last sentence was almost a murmured dream.

"I have heard legends of the Transcendents like you, Miss Beath, I understand your meaning."

He was not planning to deceive the young woman, but since she had not asked if he was a Circle Sorcerer, his silence should not be considered lying.

He pointed towards the coach:

"That man died by my gun, and I don't have a firearm license. Miss Beath, I know this is irrelevant to your secret, but once the police start investigating the origin of this gun, I will be in big trouble.

Yes, killing a bad person isn't much, but the origin of this gun must never be known to the police; this gun is very dangerous, very complicated, and related to my past that I do not want to reveal.

If an investigation is launched, for an ordinary person, life could be completely destroyed, and all I have is this peaceful life. So, you don't need to worry about me leaking your secret, because you can use this gun to destroy my life."

All these words were true.